1. Technical Field
Disclosed embodiments generally relate to mitigation of spam and identification of one or more initiators of a communication, and, in particular, to methods of using visual data to mitigate spam and identify the one or more initiators of a communication.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of IP telephony, including multimedia telephony, is experiencing a dramatic increase. Along with this increase in use, there is also a potential for an increase in misuse, including spam and caller ID falsification. Initiating communication is now as easy as clicking on a URL. Since there are few checks on who is initiating a communication, this ease of use can increase the frequency of spam. As such, users may be reluctant to adopt IP telephony as a legitimate means of communication.
Various telecommunications solutions attempt to mitigate spam and falsification by the use of an identifier such as caller ID or a Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) identifier. These solutions identify a calling endpoint or a user logged into an endpoint and may be used to get additional information such as a name or a pre-programmed picture. Additionally, an identifier may be used to perform a service such as call blocking or displaying additional information.
Still other solutions attempt to address spam and falsification by having a caller speak their name when initiating communication. These solutions are inadequate in that they do not allow a receiver of the communication to identify the person making the call. Rather, the identity of the caller is tied to the calling device or to the user account logged into the calling device.
Therefore, a need exists to provide caller authentication, in order to provide verification that a caller is not falsifying their identity and not a spammer, and ultimately improved customer satisfaction.